Pam explores local knitting groups and yarn shops, critiques patterns and shares her wisdom on techniques for improving your craft.

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Finished Ratatouille II; and now to knit from stash

Last night, I finished the second Ratatouille hat, the multicolored one in soy-blend yarn. The polypropylene in the yarn is still causing me to wonder if it’s soft enough for a chemo cap. I’ll have to ask someone who’s had chemo to help me determine it for sure.

In the meantime, I’m trying to come up with some new hat designs to make. There are several print-outs in my notebook of patterns that I’ve decided not to make for one reason or another.

One of them, a recent free design from Bernat, has a lace design that looks more complicated than I realized at first, and because the pattern doesn’t provide a large photo of the lace, I’m leary of it. I knit Continental Combination, so I like to look at the photo and figure out my own way of doing some of the stitches. I don’t trust written patterns. This one says to knit one in the back of the loop, and there are two ways to interpret this. The usual one is to knit the stitch so that it twists. But sometimes this is simply a reference to what direction the stitch should be facing on the needle. If I had a photo, I could tell instantly. Without the photo, I have to study the written instructions and guess or I have to knit a test swatch to find out. That takes more time than I want to bother with at this point.

The Obsession yarn looks washed out here, but it's actually colorful and pretty.

I’d rather knit something else that’s easier to figure out.

This morning, I got out some books of accessories, “Quick Knits” from Classic Elite and “Knitting Noro Accessories.” There are a lot of cute hats in both books, but I settled on one in the Noro book from Carol Sulcowski called “Cloche Hat” because it has an interesting construction. And the fact that I interviewed Carol at Vogue Knitting Live adds to the pleasure of making it. I think I’ll make it with a combination of green and navy blue yarns. I may even add some leaf-lace to the sides.

I just love the colors in this yarn. I think my next project for me will have to be with one of these colorways.

For myself, I’d like to make a sweater with some of the yarns I bought this spring. I have that very soft Plymouth Obsession yarn in two colorways, and I’d like to use one of them to make a sweater inspired by The Ultimate Tee book. I’ve also got that very vibrant rayon-blend yarn that I bought on clearance at Down Cellar in two colors, and I’d like to make a tank top with at least one of the colorways this year. Maybe I’ll go with the tank top first.

Sometimes knitting friends tell me they have finished a project and don’t know what to knit. I have 5 or more projects on the needles right now, and most of the time when I see a ball of yarn, I can figure out several things to make with it. It’s difficult for me to imagine not knowing what to knit. I get so enthusiastic about every new project!

My living room is currently filled with tote bags of cotton yarn from my attic stash and a few recent acquisitions like the VNA Rummage Sale and my foray into Angelfire Studios on Wednesday. In my hall and computer room, I have totes of yarn piled high, too. I just can’t imagine not being inspired by all of that!

About the author

Pam MacKenzie
Our real estate editor, Pam MacKenzie, expresses her creative side in this blog about knitting. Pam learned to knit at age 6, when her friend’s mother made Pam’s doll a dress, and Pam wanted to make more. Her mother wanted her to learn how to sew in high school, but she was afraid of the sewing machines, cutting fabric the wrong way, and the potential that sewing would have for bringing down her grade-point average. Every year, she managed to find a course conflict to avoid sewing classes. But the day after high school graduation, she took her graduation money to a fabric store, bought a kit to make a sweater, taught herself to read patterns and never looked back. These days, she knits a prayer shawl every month, along with sweaters, tote bags, gift bags and other goodies. She also designs many of her projects. Read More About PamE-mail Pam